Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams
by Chocolate Usagi
Summary: Jim finally escapes from the clutches of the Kei Pirates to find himself stranded on an unfamiliar world.
1. Default Chapter

The blond boy poked his head around the corner of the building, carefully scanning the area with his soft, cascading blue eyes. He quickly ran from his perch to behind a tree.

"Okay... One, two, three!" he cried, running to the large gate. He slowly opened it and slid his small frame out. "Yeah! I made it! I made- Yaah!" he screamed.

"Hey, watch where you're going, kid," a tall redheaded man said.

"You tripped over me, you loser!" the kid shot back, adjusting his baggy jacket. "And it's not "kid", it's Jim!"

"Whatever, just get out of my way," said the redhead as he brushed past the boy.

"Oh yeah? Well, you can stick it!" he yelled after the cocky man. He was abruptly interrupted by a whistle and sirens, accompanied by a nice little spotlight focused on him.

"The subject is approximately eleven years old, four feet in height, and seventy-four pounds. He answers to the name Jim Hawking. He is announced unarmed and dangerous," a voice informed into a mega-phone.

"Dangerous?" Jim cried as he spun around to see an army of nuns heading toward him. Thinking as quickly as he could, he jumped into the fountain full of dirty green water. He felt himself being pulled out of the water by a nun. "Heh, heh... Hi," he said cheerily, waving innocently.

He was dropped harshly on the ground. He sighed and leaned up against a wall with green writing reading 'Jim wuz here, age 6'.

"Did you try to escape again?" Kit asked in her German accent. "To no avail, might I add, Jimmy."

"How far did you get this time?" Emily asked, flinging a long yellow pigtail over her shoulder.

"I was there! I tasted freedom!" Jim spat. "Until this major jerk TRIPPED OVER ME! He got me caught! I swear, if I ever see him again, I'll-"

"Kids, I'd like to introduce to you Mr. Gene Starwind. He's interested in adopting a child," Sister Amber announced cheerfully.

"My name is Ozania, and I'm eight years old! I want to be a cook and I like to read and-"a short curly redhead giddily rambled.

"It's you! You're the jerk who stepped on me!" Jim declared, pointing a gloved finger at Gene.

"You're that stupid little kid from earlier. How'd you get here?" Gene asked suspiciously.

"Hello? Jim lives here," Megami answered for her friend.

"Yeah, I'm an orphan here at Lucky Dagg Orphanage. Not exactly the perfect place to spend your childhood," he said, crossing his arms around his blond head.

"And Jim's been trying to escape since he was four!" the tanned-skinned Ed piped in.

"You keep out of this!" Jim cried as he pushed Ed out of the picture.

"Why?" Gene asked. Jim and Edward stopped fighting.

"What?" Jim asked.

"Why are you running away?"

"Because I can't stand it here. I mean, we're lucky if we get food everyday. And besides, no one will adopt me."

"I'll take him," Gene said to the nun.

"You... You'll WHAT?!" Jim cried.  
  
Yes, that's it, peeps. My very first fic. I oddly feel like a parent... I don't own Outlaw Star. If I did, why would I be here? Anyway, please R & R. I accept flames.  
  
In chapter two, find out-

.Why does Gene want to adopt a kid?

.What happened to Jim's parents?

.Who is this Edward I speak so fondly of?  
  
Thank you for reading! --Chocolate Bunny


	2. 2 Memories Old

Outlaw Star: Resurrected Nightmares Chapter 2- Memories Old  
  
Okay, I wasn't sure how everyone was going to react to my fic, but it turns out I was threatened to be bludgeoned with a mallet or something if I didn't update... Oh, but I fear the mallet! ;; I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I'm only allowed on the computer for two hours a week, plus I totally had writers' block. Then I watched "Big Daddy" with Adam Sandler, and I was a bit more inspired. So let's just see how this thing turns out, shall we?  
  
Okay, I just wanted to personally thank my readers and those who reviewed. Kate-chan, thank you. I thought it was cute, too. Sasaki's Little Sis, you're so enthusiastic. Thank you for... Enjoying. MalletWielderofDoom, I really do fear the mallet. Please don't hit me. And I'm glad someone liked the spunky Jim! Thank you all!  
  
Now it's time for chap two. Enjoy!  
  
--  
  
Gene signed the paper in his barely legible handwriting and passed the paper to the blond, who graced it with his own signature. He slung a ratty old brown bag over his shoulder and adorned himself with his brown jacket.  
  
"Congratulations, Mr. Starwind! And as for you, James, good luck," the nun cheerfully said before sending the two out.  
  
"Don't you want to say goodbye? To your friends?" Gene asked, not seeming to really care, as he slid into his car.  
  
"...No. The sooner I forget about this whole place, the better."  
  
"Jim, wait!" a child's voice called from a small crowd emerging from the orphanage doors. "We... Wanted to say bye."  
  
Jim's cerulean eyes scanned the small crowd. He looked... Surprised.  
  
"Even me," a boy with short red hair piped. "Sure, I can't stand you, and I know I seriously get on your nerves, but it'll definitely be more quiet around here without your daily pathetic escape attempts."  
  
"Jim," a tall, lanky boy with bleach colored hair stepped forward. "We got you something." He handed him a messily wrapped rectangular present. Jim modestly accepted and unwrapped an obviously cheap and used laptop.  
  
"How did you-" he began.  
  
"Turned out I had some inheritance money from when my mama and sis got capped. Don't ask why I decided to spend it on you," a slightly older girl with dark brown skin said, winking.  
  
"You didn't have to-"  
  
A girl stepped up from the crowd and hugged Jim awkwardly around the electronic device. "I'll miss you the most." Her short and curly hair swayed lightly with the breeze as she wiped a crystal tear from her gray eye.  
  
"Do you mind cutting this short? I've got places to go, people to see," Gene interrupted. Jim looked about to bust an ulcer. He got in the dented car without protest. Jim hadn't even gotten his door shut when Gene sped off. Jim sat up in his seat and turned his body around to see the crowd, which now had moved to the street.  
  
"You didn't seem too excited," Gene's low voice sounded, awakening Jim from his train of thought.  
  
"They caught me off guard," he admitted. "I didn't expect for them to..."  
  
"Don't get choked up on me, kid," Gene pleaded sarcastically.  
  
"It's Jim."  
  
"Seat belt."  
  
"Didn't think you'd care," Jim said as he snapped it around his waist.  
  
--  
  
"Nice, uh, place..." muttered the blond as he and Gene entered the tiny apartment. "Kind of... Small..."  
  
"I prefer cozy," corrected Gene.  
  
"Whatever. Ja ne," said Jim as he reached for the door again.  
  
"Nani?" Gene asked, glancing over. "Wait, woah, woah! Where do you think you're going kid?"  
  
"Listen, I appreciate you busting me out of that place, but I'd rather be out there than here with you. I'll do fine on my own. And it's JIM," he reminded as he once again attempted to leave the apartment. Gene grabbed Jim's shirt collar, causing his small body to retract and flop over on the ground. Jim crossed his arms from his position on the ground and gave Gene the I'm-not-sure-what-you're-pulling-but-knock-it-off look. "Explain."  
  
"You can't leave yet. If you leave, I won't get my money."  
  
"Explain in depth."  
  
"The government gives adoptive parents one hundred big ones in cash every week," Gene said in a proud sense.  
  
"Wait, so I'm... I'm just a MONEY OUTLET FOR YOU?!" Jim screamed in Gene's face.  
  
"How old are you?" Gene bluntly asked. Jim seemed a bit taken aback by the random question.  
  
"I... Uh... Well, I'm not really sure..." Jim responded. Gene gave him a quizzical look. "Well, I was found when I was... Why am I telling you this? I'm... Eleven. That sounds about right..."  
  
"Whatever. Are you hungry?" Gene asked as he poured two bowls of stale cereal.  
  
"Do I have a choice?" Jim muttered exasperatedly as he plopped down in a chair, defeated. He took off his coat and slung it on the back of his chair and sat his clearly heavy bag beside it.  
  
"What's in that bag?" Gene asked, sliding a bowl in front of Jim.  
  
"Just my stuff. My toolbox, some clothes, my new laptop," he said, smiling at the fact that he now had something he never dreamed he could attain.  
  
"Tools?" Gene spat through a mouthful of cereal.  
  
"Yeah. I'm pretty handy with a wrench," he breezed coolly, crossing his arms behind his head.  
  
"Well, I may have some use for you after all. I've got a pretty banged up ship out back."  
  
"A ship?" Jim asked, a twinkle in his eye, an idea in his head.  
  
"Yeah. It's not too big and I wouldn't ever use it, but if it were fixed up, I could sell it for a nice amount."  
  
"Is money all you ever think about?"  
  
"Besides food? Pretty much."  
  
"Well, I've never fixed any ships at the orphanage... Just the toaster, the radio, and a few toys now and then, but I could take a look at it."  
  
"So, Jim, was it? Tell me about yourself," said Gene as he pushed his empty bowl aside.  
  
"Geez, you just adopted me and you can't even remember my name? You are pathetic."  
  
"Just talk. I don't want any smart mouthing."  
  
"Well, I never knew my parents... I'm pretty smart- obviously smart enough to outwit you... I'm handy with the computer at the orphanage..." Jim rambled, counting off on his fingers.  
  
"See? You guys have a computer! You made it seem all horrible."  
  
"We're usually not allowed to even look at it. They tell us we're "below to fascinating high-tech data base" or something... It doesn't do anything but store all our records and stuff anyway. I think it can illegally download music, too. The only reason I'm allowed to mess with it is because I check it every now and then for bugs and tune it up when it's broken..."  
  
".............Are you going to fix that ship outside or not?" Gene bluntly asked. Jim sighed, grabbed his toolbox from his bag, and headed outside. Gene followed and observed from the doorway. Many times Jim's sight veered to the older man, but he subtly continued working. Finally, covered in oil, he threw down his wrench in exasperation.  
  
"Why are you staring at me? You're making me nervous," Jim said through clenched teeth.  
  
"I'm making sure you don't make a stupid mistake."  
  
-- "Why do you always watch me when I try to fix things, daddy?"  
  
"I'm making sure you don't make a stupid mistake."  
  
"A mistake? Oh, you're joking!"  
  
"Of course! You're the greatest four-year-old computer whiz there ever was! That naturally makes you perfect for handling tools. I trust you, kid."  
  
"Dad! It's Jim! Not kid!"  
  
"Oh, why of course it is! What was I thinking?" --  
  
"Yo... Kid. You okay?" Gene asked, nudging Jim with his foot. He had frozen in place, staring out into space. Jim leaned back and fell into the grass with a curious smile spread across his dirt-stained face, the gentle summer winds whipping his golden brown hair.  
  
"I'm done. And it's Jim."  
  
--  
  
Well, that's it. It took me so long, and I'm really sorry for the delay. It's mainly because I didn't plan ahead and start thinking about the next chapter because I wasn't sure if anyone would like it. This time, however, I've nearly got it all planned out.  
  
So, in the next chapter, Jim takes a little trip of his own and gets introduced to Gene's everyday reckless lifestyle when the redhead gets them into some trouble.  
  
Oh, wait! I said I'd talk about Edward! ...  
  
Goodbye now! Chocolate Usagi is signing out! 


	3. 3 Gunshots and Escape Routes

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 3- Gunshots and Escape Routes  
  
Okay, everyone! Last time the papers were signed and Gene officially became Jim's guardian. Jim hesitated in explaining what happened to his parents, but they actually got along for more than two seconds. Jim repaired a ship of Gene's, and something he said struck a chord in Jim's memory...  
  
In this one Jim finds out he's handier with a wrench than he knew, and Gene learns that if someone looks big and mean, and if they sound big and mean, and if they act big and mean, then you shouldn't have a hangover within the same eight mile vicinity as them.  
  
Once again, I must thank Sasaki's Little Sis and MalletWielderofDoom. They're being really supportive. Thank you! Love you! Oh, and I am starving for the Internet. I'm DYING HERE!  
  
I really wish my cat Peanut Butter would stop growling at me. She looks like a little weasel.  
  
Okay, here we go! The third chapter, Gunshots and Escape routes! Enjoy!  
  
--  
  
He had planned it out perfectly. He would pretend to sleep until his captor had returned to his quarters for the night. That was when he would make his move.  
  
During his regular feeding hours he carefully observed his surroundings, taking in every exact corridor, counting each step it would take, totaling how long it would take factoring in if he were running. The only predicament left to examine was how lightly his captor slept.  
  
Everything was going perfectly. He was "befriending" the man who kept him here and earning his trust. Everything he did was part of his plan ever since he stepped foot into this prison. Everything he did contributed to his emancipation.  
  
Tonight was the night he would escape from this place.  
  
It was exactly 12:50 AM. It was time.  
  
He slowly crept from his cot and dressed himself in the dark. He gathered his belongings and slowly and carefully opened his door a crack. Just wide enough for his blue eyes to see the silhouette of the man sleeping on the watch.  
  
Perfect.  
  
He easily sneaked past him and out the door.  
  
He was out.  
  
Now for the hard part.  
  
He had no idea how to hijack he guy's ride. Jacking a ship couldn't be that hard, could it?  
  
He carefully lifted the seal compartment to reveal a sea of multi-colored wires. He had read somewhere or seen it on television or something...  
  
Cut the red wire and the blue wire and connect them. That should start the ship.  
  
He pulled his handy pliers out of his bag to snip the wires and held them together with a piece of scotch tape. Sure enough, it did the trick. But he wasn't at a docking port nor did he attain permission to take off.  
  
Not that it was going to stop him. He just needed to figure out how to accelerate the ship for take-off.  
  
But the warden came running out, stumbling over his own feet.  
  
"Kid, what do you think you're doing?" he yelled into the night sky.  
  
"I'm getting out of here! What does it look like?" Jim called back through the speaker. "Now how do you make it go?"  
  
"I can't believe you tried to run away in my ship..." Gene sighed as he ran his large hand through his matted red hair. His blue eyes looked over the blond boy, tied to a chair with rope. He couldn't even look at the man, his defiant cerulean eyes glued to the side, his head tilted down to the right.  
  
"I told you I didn't want to be here..." he muttered.  
  
"You could've gotten yourself killed! Or worse- you could've ruined the ship!"  
  
"I couldn't help it! I had to go!" he screamed, looking into Gene's tough face. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes.  
  
"Tell me what's so important that you had to risk your life trying to fly a spaceship!"  
  
"I wanted to find them... My parents..." he whispered. His shaky voice was almost completely inaudible now.  
  
"I thought you told me you never knew your parents, kid. How are you supposed to find them if you don't know what they look like?" Gene asked as he leaned back into the couch.  
  
"A man came to the orphanage a few years ago... When I first came... I was only about three or four..."  
  
-- "Children, I'd like to introduce you all to Mr. Noboru Narita. Mr. Narita is looking for the son of his business partner. Mr. Narita, I'll leave the rest to you," the plump nun said bowing as she left the short, fat man with the children. He had thick curly black hair that looked like it hadn't been combed in days and many times had stressed, worried hands run through it.  
  
He scanned the crowd and came to a young boy with thick blond hair pulled into a small ponytail. His blue eyes still had tears in them from crying. He had a bandage on his cheek, one wrapped around his head, and another around his arm.  
  
"What happened to you, kid?" he asked as he bent down on one knee so he was eye-level with him.  
  
"I-I don't k-know... They found me like this and I don't remember..." he stuttered as he back half a step away from the man.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"I don't have a n-name... I don't remember it..."  
  
"You definitely look like him... Do you remember how old you are? You look about four... Maybe five..." he said, looking the child over. The boy shook his head. "I'm not positively sure, kid, but you may be the son of James Hawking. He was a great man, skilled at hacking and other junk like that. They called him 'The Wizard'. His ship went down about a week ago... He got caught in a meteor shower. He and his wife and eldest son all died, but his youngest child's body was never found."  
  
"That's about when I came here..." the boy pondered.  
  
"It'd be a miracle if it were you and you survived at all... Tell you what... I'll come back here in a few days to sign some papers to get you out of here. James told me to take care of you if anything ever happened to him. Does that sound okay to you?"  
  
Jim smiled for the first time since he'd gotten there and vigorously nodded his head. --  
  
"And he never came back?" Gene asked, completely mesmerized by the tale.  
  
"I never knew if that guy actually knew my dad or if he was just a crazy bum or something..." Jim said nodding.  
  
"Well, hey! Let me take you out for a drink, kid! Come on, it'll be fun!" Gene cried happily with a foolish grin as he untied the boy. "You've had it rough and you need to unwind!"  
  
"In other words, you hate to be sober?" Jim asked with a similar look on his face.  
  
In no time at all they were at the closest local bar, which also happened to be the hangout for several Yukuzos and hookers.  
  
"Come on, Jimmy! Don't be a wet blanket!" Gene slurred, offering him a drink.  
  
"Has it occurred to you that I'm a minor? I'm not even supposed to be here..." he said as he glanced around at the people.  
  
"So? I'm only eighteen! I'm as drunk as a person can be!"  
  
"You're how old? So legally you're not allowed to adopt me either, huh? That's it, I'm out of here. I'm taking your car, too," Jim called as he hopped off his stool and headed for the door.  
  
"Hey. You're kind of cute. I'm Candy. What's your name?" a tall blonde woman said smoothly as she stepped in Jim's way.  
  
"Geeeeeene..." he whined, turning around to see the redhead with his arm around a large, burly man.  
  
"You know... In the dark... You remind me of one big, goopy eyeball..." he muttered, stroking the frustrated man's beard. "And I like that in a woman..."  
  
"Nani?!" Jim gasped with a shocked expression.  
  
"That's it! You better get off me, punk! I'm going to fill you full of holes!" he cried as he whipped a gun out from under his shirt and aimed it at Gene, who instinctively ran to Jim, picked him up by his shirt collar, and ran.  
  
"What are you doing, you loser? Don't drag me into this!" Jim screamed as Gene dropped him in mid-run, when Jim took off behind him.  
  
"Just shut up and run, kid!" Gene instructed.  
  
''It's Jim!"  
  
"Can we talk about this later?" Gene asked in an annoyed/drunken tone as he pulled a fancy gun out from a holster around his waist.  
  
"Woah! Is that a Caster? That's like an antique!" Jim marveled at the rare firearm, which Gene used to fend off the mob forming behind them. Gene grabbed Jim and pulled him behind a building. "What are you-?"  
  
Gene stuffed a wad of cash into Jim's small hand and told him, "Listen. I'm out of bullets. I need you to go buy more. We'll meet up right here in fifteen minutes."  
  
-- "Listen, I'm out of bullets. I need you to go buy more. We'll meet up right here in fifteen minutes."  
  
"But... Aniki... I'm so scared..."  
  
"Jimmy, don't worry. I'll be okay, and I know I can trust you, squirt."  
  
"But..."  
  
"There he is! Kokurando Hawking! Get him!"  
  
"Aniki!"  
  
"Jimmy, look out!" --  
  
"Kid, look out!" Gene cried as a bullet pierced through Jim's lower back. He stood for a minute, then fell, stunned.  
  
"An... Aniki..."  
  
--  
  
Oh, no! Have I done it? Have I killed off Jim? And who's this "Aniki" fellow? You'll find out next time!  
  
Before I forget, my little sister was skimming these as I typed and she kept asking me what the Japanese words were, so I thought I'd put them up here for anyone who didn't know...  
  
Ja ne means see you later.  
  
Nani means what.  
  
The Yukuzo is the Japanese mafia...  
  
Aniki means big brother.  
  
I think that's all I used... If I'm wrong make sure to tell me how blonde I'm being.  
  
Oh, and be on the lookout for a few spoofs I'm writing. There's a Teen Titans one, a James Bond spoof, and even a Maury Povich one.  
  
So, until next time, ja ne! This has been the chocolate bunny and it's not even Easter! 


	4. 4 Hospital Walls

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 4- Hospital Walls  
  
Ah, and the Chocolate Usa-chan strikes again. As you remember, last time Jim tried to sneak away in the ship he repaired for Gene. Then he revealed some secrets about his past and in return, Gene got drunk and Jim got shot.  
  
To Kate-chan, thank you! I'm glad someone liked that! My sister said it was corny. ;.;  
  
In this chapter, Gene shows how he truly feels toward Jim. We get to see how Jim's stay at the hospital was, and he makes a new friend. He also learns how fragile life can really be.  
  
And thus, it begins again.  
  
--  
  
"I need a report stat... Get me some syringe... Hook up an I.V.... Cutting the circulation... Blood won't stop... Loosing consciousness... Might not make it..."  
  
His blue eyes bobbed open and closed as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He tried to talk, to ask where he was, what was going on, but nothing came out. He tried to move, to run, to do something, but the immense pain in his stomach ceased any thoughts of that. All he could do was force his eyes to stay open.  
  
White. He saw a lot of white. He was in a hospital. There were so many people running around him. He was moving. He must have been on a gurney.  
  
Jim felt himself slipping back to sleep. The figures around him became more faint.  
  
Then he saw him. Gene. Sure enough, it was the same stubborn redhead who had gotten him into this predicament.  
  
But he didn't have on the same tough veneer he had encountered over the past few days. He had a different expression. It was more gentle, but also more on-edge. He looked guilty and anxious. He was...  
  
Worried.  
  
"Ani...ki..." was all Jim could manage to say as he raised his hand to the man before blacking out once more.  
  
But Gene took the boy's hand in both of his. He held, squeezed it.  
  
"Will he be okay? Tell me!" he shouted to one of the doctors around the gurney.  
  
"I'm sorry, sir. It's too early to tell," he responded quickly as if it were a rehearsed line as they pushed the table into a room.  
  
-- "Please, let me see him! Please, I need to see him! I'm his brother!"  
  
"Sir, you can't go in there!"  
  
"Jimmy! ... Jimmy... Oh, God, Jim! I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to get hurt... I should never have gotten involved with those thugs... It's all my fault... Geez, Kokurando... You're such an idiot... You've really done it this time... Please... He's only a little kid... Let him be okay... Please, he didn't hurt anyone. It was all my fault... Jimmy..."  
  
"Aniki..."  
  
Jim's large blue eyes fluttered open slowly... --  
  
"Aniki..."  
  
"No, it's me, kid. It's Gene," the tall man said with a gentle smile.  
  
"What... Happened...?" Jim asked, closing his eyes once again.  
  
"Those guys I messed with at the bar followed us and we got into a fight. ... They got you," Gene said painfully. He had obviously been blaming himself for the whole thing and had been beating himself up about it. Jim's hand ran over his side. He winced in pain and quickly withdrew his hand. "Hey, don't touch it, stupid!"  
  
"Are you alright?" Jim asked groggily as he half-opened his eyes again. Gene faked another smile.  
  
"Not a scratch."  
  
"I'm glad you're... Not hurt..." he said, resting his eyes again.  
  
"I really hope that's not the morphine talking, kid..."  
  
"It's... Jim..."  
  
The next time Jim woke up there was someone in the bed on the other side of the room. It was a girl about the same age as him. She had beautiful chest-length wavy hair that came in three different colors- yellow, black, and purple. Although she looked very weak, her light blue eyes were bright behind her matching glasses as she watched the television.  
  
"Oh, hi. You're awake. You've been sleeping since I got in here," she said, turning the t.v. off. "I'm Yuki."  
  
"Jim."  
  
"What're you in for? I have anemia and I'm here for my eleventh surgery on my heart. That's an operation a year," she said, oddly proud off the fact that she was most likely terminally ill.  
  
"What's anemia?" Jim asked, deliberately ignoring the first question.  
  
"It's a rare heart disease. But don't worry- it's not contagious. It's sort of like a tumor, I guess. Whenever my heart accelerates so fast, it just sort of... Stops. That sucks because it happens whenever I'm scared, nervous, or I run or jump or something, so I can't really do a lot of things. It really hurts, but the operations cost a lot of money and I've had ten so far. I'm getting what may be my last one tonight. If it doesn't work, they might stop, because so far, they really haven't made any improvements," Yuki babbled. Even though she was tired, she loved to talk. "So why did you say you're here?"  
  
"... I was shot," replied Jim.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry. Well at least you're alive. Be thankful for that. I heard my parents talking. My 'due date' is in exactly two months, one week, and two days," she told Jim.  
  
"Due date?" Jim asked with a confused expression.  
  
"When they expect for me to die."  
  
"Lunch time," a nurse rang as she pushed a cart in the room with two plates full of a variety of foods. "Do you think you want to eat tonight, Yukiena?" The girl slowly shook her head.  
  
"I'm not hungry, ma'am. But could have some water, please?" she asked quietly, instantly growing timid.  
  
"Of course," she said with a sweet smile. "Here you are, James. I hope you like it."  
  
'In a way, this place is like the orphanage. It sure has the same dreary tone. I guess the nurses and doctors are like nuns, and the patients are like orphans,' Jim pondered as he poked at whatever the green stuff was.  
  
"Yukiena, you're parents are here. They're signing in now and they'll be here shortly," a different nurse said, poking her head in. She had the same false cheerfulness splattered across her face.  
  
"My parents always go all out whenever I go to the hospital. What about yours?" Yuki asked Jim.  
  
"I don't have parents. I'm an orphan," Jim replied after a long pause.  
  
"Well, I'd better leave you kids now. Just push this button if you need me, James. Don't hesitate to call for anything at all. My name is Tae," the first nurse said, winking. "Yukiena, I trust you know how to use the nurse call button," she breezed as she patted the girl on her multi-colored head and briskly left the room, returning just as quickly with a glass of water.  
  
The next time the door opened two adults and two teenagers entered the room, arms full of bouquets, stuffed animals, candy, and cards.  
  
"Yuki, honey, how are you doing?" the beautiful blonde woman cried in an English accent as she rushed in high heels to the girl.  
  
"I'm fine, mom. Same as always," Yuki piped. "Hi, dad, Ri, Rosie."  
  
"We come bearing gifts," her father said, dropping the load at the foot of her bed.  
  
"Jim, this is my mom, dad, and my older sisters, Hikari and Rosetta," Yuki introduced, pointing to each person as she said their name. "Everyone, this is Jim. He was shot."  
  
"Actually, we're not Yuki's real sisters. Ri and I were adopted," the younger of the two piped.  
  
"Shut up, you. I'm sure the kid doesn't want to hear about it," the older one said, elbowing her sister. "Besides, not that you couldn't tell. Rosie and I have blue hair."  
  
"Here, sweetie. We all pitched in to buy this bouquet for you. Your father, your sisters, and myself," her mother said, offering a large, beautiful bouquet of blue and white roses to the girl. "Your favorite flowers."  
  
Yuki held the bouquet in her hands and thought for a moment. She offered it to Jim. "Here, Jim," she said with a smile. "You need this more than I do. It's from me and my family to you, because just like my sisters, you don't have a family to buy you one." Jim shyly took the roses.  
  
"Thanks, Yuki."  
  
"Yukiena, it's time. I feel good about this one," a doctor said as he came in.  
  
"Good buy, honey. Good luck," her mother said, kissing her on the forehead.  
  
"Good luck? Mom, I'm getting an operation, not competing in the Olympics," Yuki cried jokingly as they wheeled her out. "Oh, Jim? I'll see you when I wake up. Bye!"  
  
Jim went to sleep for the day and woke up late the next evening. Yuki should have been out by now. He tiredly turned his head and looked over at her bed.  
  
It was empty. All her stuff was gone.  
  
A short time later a nurse came in to clean up the room.  
  
"Excuse me, sir?" Jim asked. The man looked up.  
  
"What's wrong? Do you need something?" asked the nurse as he walked over to Jim's bedside.  
  
"Um, I was wondering where Yuki went. She went into surgery early yesterday," Jim informed him as he pointed to the empty bed.  
  
"Yukiena Munoh? She didn't make it through the operation. She died around seven this morning."  
  
--  
  
There you go! Jim's alive. Unfortunately, his new friend isn't. Poor Yuki. There really wasn't a lot of Gene in this one. Don't worry, next time Jim goes home. There'll be more Gene there. I promise. We'll also find out where Gene was for the most part when Jim was at the hospital. Until next time, this has been Chocolate Usagi! Bye now! 


	5. 5 Explanations

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 5- Explanations

I'm back. Last time we found out how Jim's stay at the hospital was during his recuperation. He made a new friend, the anemic Yuki Munoh, who died shortly after her introduction.

To Kate-chan: I liked Yuki too. ;.; Hey, I'd love to read your fic! I'll do that! Sasaki's Little Sis- Heh, heh... You make me smile... MalletWielderofDoom: Umm... No, Gene isn't Kokurando. Jim saw Kokurando in a dream. Sorry if that was hazy! That WOULD make a nice plot twist, though...

Today Jim goes home! He finally lets Gene in on how he became an orphan. We also get to discover where Gene was while Jim was in the hospital, and the two get into their very first argument. The very first of many, that is.

Okay, here's number five! We're on a roll!

Jim stared out the window, the summer winds gently swaying the sakura tree outside. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, turning his head to Yuki's bed.

'When I open my eyes, she'll be there,' he told himself. He slowly drew the air out and opened his eyes.

She wasn't there.

"Geez, I don't even know why this is affecting me so much. I barely even knew her. I mean, sure she was nice to me, but still..." The door opened wide and another nurse came in to change the sheets on his bed.

"Oh, James. It's so nice. You'll be going home today. Your big brother, Gene is already in the waiting room, but we can't let him in yet- hospital policy," she said briskly as she left with the old sheets.

"Uh, he's not my..." Jim started, but she was already out the door.

At exactly 5:50 AM the doors for visitors opened.

"Can I help you sir?" the over-excited receptionist asked to the still half-asleep Gene.

"Uh... Yeah. I'm here to sign Jim Hawking out. I'm his legal guardian, Gene Starwind," he told her, his hand behind his head.

"Oh, Mr. Starwind. James has been asking about you all morning. I'll get the paperwork and we'll bring him out."

Within minutes all had been taken care of and Jim was released into Gene's care once again.

The car ride home was oddly quiet, like three weeks ago when they had first met. Until Jim spoke.

"Why did you pick me?" he asked in a hushed voice, looking at his feet firmly planted on the floor of the car.

"What?" Gene asked, glancing over at the boy.

"Why did you pick me to adopt? You didn't even know me," Jim repeated, messing with the flowers Yuki had given him. Gene shrugged.

"Do I need a reason?"

"I just wanted to know. When you're confined to a bed for two and-a-half weeks you start to think."

"I don't know... I guess you reminded me a lot of myself when I was around your age."

"Is that a good thing?" Jim asked innocently, raising his eyes to the redhead.

"Ha, ha. The truth is, you had personality. The other kids were just... Kids. You stood out. You were loud, you were spunky, you were tough..."

"I was pretending. I'm not really like that at all. You need to hold down the fort if you want to survive in a place like that. If you're too soft, the others will just walk all over you. It's competition for everything. Attention, clothes, toys, even food. Really, I cried almost every night. I know I must've said a billion times that I didn't care about finding my family. That I didn't care about being adopted. That I just wanted out. I was lying."

"... Kid..."

"Gene. I'll tell you about my past now."

_It was around 6:00 in the morning. The sky was set ablaze in a beautiful red and yellow and orange sunrise. _

_The boy was no older than five years old. His horribly dirty hair was matted to his forehead with caked blood. He rose from the wreckage, burning fire, littered with twisted metal, discarded bodies... The searing pain ripped though his arm._

_His soft blue eyes held tears of pain and confusion, yet he chuckled lightly. He made his way out of the graveyard, limping to one side. He pushed himself on until he couldn't walk anymore._

_He sat down on the dirt road and felt something hard in his back pocket. He pulled out a tiny picture of a man, a woman, an older boy, and a younger boy, himself._

_The older boy, about eighteen years old, bore the same sapphire eyes as he did, but in place of his blond hair, the boy had bright red hair, the color of fire. _

_He closed his eyes after returning the picture and fell back on the ground. It was all so confusing. Who were the people in the picture? Who was he? What was that place back there, where he had emerged from under an iron case?_

_That's when the two old men found him. When they asked his name, and where his family was, and how he had gotten so beat up, his answer was always the same; I don't know._

_The men didn't know what to do, so they took him to the nearest orphanage. Lucky Dagg Orphanage._

_The boy was stripped of his belongings and was adorned with the attire of an orphan, doomed to wear the same shirt for weeks on end._

_When he asked a nun where the picture that he had found in his pocket was, she harshly told him they had sold the frame to buy cigarettes for themselves and tossed the picture out._

_The boy ran outside in disbelief and dug through all the trash bins outside before an older orphan had taken him inside and comforted him._

_He lived in the orphanage for seven more years. Seven years and 2,555 unsuccessful escape attempts._

"And then that's about where you came in," Jim concluded as Gene helped him out of the car and in the house. "What were you doing when I was at the hospital?"

"What do you mean? I was there," Gene said, putting two pieces of bread in the toaster.

"Yeah, but one time I woke up and you weren't there. You didn't come back either." Gene sighed and sat down in a chair, setting a piece of burnt toast in front of the boy.

"I was tracking those Yukuzo guys down. Turns out they were just petty crooks, so I took care of them."

"You... You killed them?" Jim asked quietly. Gene didn't respond. "Gene... Why? ... Answer me!"

"I had to make them pay."

"Gene, killing is wrong!"

"They almost killed you!"

"Like you'd care anyway! You'd just lose that hundred bucks!"

"I did care! I was scared you'd die and I'd never see you again! Believe it or not, kid, I like you."

Silence.

"It's Jim," the boy remarked, rising awkwardly from the table and heading for the door.

"You won't get very far," Gene spat through a mouthful of toast.

"I'm taking your ship."

Gene spit the toast out onto the table.

"Geez! Why can't you get over the fact that you can't pilot the thing? Come here..." Gene murmured as he picked up Jim and carried him off.

"Hey, where are we going? What're you doing?" Jim cried. Gene opened the closet door and dropped Jim on the floor.

"You'll stay there until you stop messing with my ship," Gene instructed as he shut and locked the wooden door.

"No, wait! You can't leave me in here! I'm scared of close spaces! I'll stop, I promise! Let me out!" Jim frantically screamed, pounding on the door with his fists.

"_Hey, let go! Come on, let go of me!" Jim shouted, struggling in the nun's arms._

"_Until you can learn to behave, young man, you'll stay in the Solitary Confinement," she replied as she threw him into the tiny closet. It was dark and there was only enough room for him to sit with his knees pulled to his chest. He was only let out when another nun came to put another disobedient child in._

_Nearly one week later._

_Over his time at Lucky Dagg, Jim was sentenced to Solitary Confinement almost eighty times._

Gene had to listen to a few more hours of Jim's outburst before the boy finally settled down.

"I'll let him out in the morning..." Gene mumbled as he climbed into his bed.

Jim was curled into a ball on the floor, his eyes squeezed shut as tight as possible.

"Man... This is unfair... Forget unfair, this is illegal..." he whispered. "I've got to get out of here..."

"Well, kid... Have you learned your lesson yet?" Gene asked as he turned the corner into the living room, scratching himself.

The door had been broken down. Jim was gone.

Gene ran outside in his boxers and wife beater just in time to see his beloved ship with the "FOR SALE" sign in the window lift off from the ground.

"Not again!" he cried. The ship wobbly sped off, but didn't get far. It went down in a plain not one mile from Gene's apartment. "..."

Bum, bum, bum! Have I done it AGAIN? Is Jim dead AGAIN? It'd be a short story...

I've got to share with you something funny that happened last night. Yesterday was the Fourth of July, Independence Day. I had just gotten back from the fireworks display downtown and was outside talking with my friend Matt. This really annoying girl, Belinda, from down the street walks up, barefoot. Her family had been setting off illegal fireworks since June.

"Where was you at?" she asked me.

"I was watching the fireworks."

"You went and saw them? Them suck," she replied.

I, being a natural wisecrack, asked, "Them do?"

OH MY, GOD! It was hilarious! Matt was cracking up. Belinda was clueless.

Okay, so, to tell you the truth, I have no idea what's going to happen next time. I haven't thought it that far through yet. So, I'll be as surprised as you all will. Let's call it suspense, shall we?

So, until next week, this has been the Chocolate Usa-Usa! Later!


	6. 6 Red Dragonflies

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 6- Red Dragonflies  
  
Okay, first I really need to apologize for not posting another chapter in weeks. First of all, my sisters have been bugging me about getting a Teen Titans fic up, so I did that. Then, something a reader said made me review my chapters (which I should've done before I posted them)- Italics doesn't show up on I've been putting all of Jim's memories in Italics, and they haven't been showing up. So naturally, you'd get the impression that Kokurando is Gene when that isn't the case. I decided to go back and edit all the chapters. So if you want to go back and read them, it'll be a little less confusing.  
  
Next, when I went back to type up this chapter, I discovered that my computer with Internet access deleted chapter five (I have a really old computer in my room without Internet that I use to type up my fics, then post them with the computer downstairs). The only existing copy is on , and my computer won't let me copy it. Since I only have an hour a week online (yes, now it's just ONE hour...), I used it to reread chapter five. It was a drawback not having chapter five while typing this, but here goes nothing.  
  
As usual, I must thank everyone who reviewed! My old friends, as well as some new guests! I'm glad you like this, and I'm surprised I've gotten no flames! A special thanks to my sister! Thank you, 'Lex!  
  
I must point out that 'Red Dragonflies' is an actual song, author unknown. I don't own the song. Obviously.  
  
Now this chapter should be way easier to understand. Once again, I'm really sorry! Enjoy!  
  
--  
  
Jim opened his eyes slowly and felt the searing pain in his head. He looked around very confusedly. This wasn't the hospital...  
  
The red hair.  
  
"Aniki..." he whispered.  
  
"Why do you keep calling me that, kid? I'm not your brother. It's me Gene," the redhead said rather harshly. A bland expression overtook Jim's face.  
  
"Oh, yeah. I remember now..." he muttered.  
  
"So you remember how you tried to steal my ship AGAIN? You figured out how to repair it and start it up, but I guess you still don't know how to pilot it, huh, kid? You crashed it. I was barely able to pull you out. You owe me a ship since you destroyed that one."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
Gene unfolded his arms and glanced down at Jim. "What?"  
  
"I know how much you must hate me. All I've done since I got here is bring trouble and hospital bills. You tried to make money off of me, but on top of my food bills and two trips to the hospital I bet you're losing more money than making..." Jim whispered. A silent tear fell onto his small hand, which was gripping the thin blanket on his body.  
  
"Hey, I don't hate you, kid. And besides, it's one hospital trip. You're right- you were racking up my bills and I couldn't afford to take you AGAIN so I treated your wounds as best as I could."  
  
"Are you serious? I could've DIED and all you thought about was the money? And would it kill you to say my name every once in awhile?" Jim screamed as he latched himself on Gene's face, pulling his cheeks in anger.  
  
"Gee, you seem so much better now."  
  
Jim leaned back in the steamy water. The hot bath felt so good. The water at the orphanage was always ice cold.  
  
His clothes gathered at the floor with the bandages from his head and around his chest- his gunshot wound reopened when the ship crashed.  
  
A slight knock on the door signaled Gene poking his head through the door.  
  
"I got you some new clothes because those you have stink. I'll wash them for you, but wear these until then," he said as he sat the folded clothes on the sink before leaving.  
  
"Hey... Those aren't new! Those are yours! You wore them yesterday!" Jim called in protest.  
  
"Yeah, deal..." Gene murmured as he went outside to retrieve the mail. He rummaged through the tiny box outside the door. "Man, I should really check the mail everyday... Bill, bill, bill, junk, bill, invitation, bill, junk, crap, sweepstakes winner, bill, more junk, even more junk, bill, crap, j- hello..." He dumped the load on the breakfast/lunch/dinner table and examined a tiny package that bore no return address.  
  
'To Mr. James Arthur Hawking, Jr.'  
  
"It's for... Jim... Since when did he become a junior??" Gene asked himself as he opened the envelope and dumped out a cassette tape and a small piece of paper. "Could it be music? A recording maybe? Must be something he left from the orphanage..." Gene popped the tiny tape into the cassette player and pushed the play button.  
  
A single piano began playing a slow, sad song. After an introductory piano piece, a female's voice sang softly.  
  
"Yu u yake ko ya keno a ka to m bo...  
  
O wa rete mi ta nowait su nohika...  
  
To the glorious sunset colors red dragonflies belong...  
  
When did I behold them as my mother carried me along...?  
  
To the glorious sunset colors red dragonflies belong...  
  
When did I behold them as my mother carried me along...?  
  
Yu u yake ko ya keno a ka to m bo...  
  
O wa rete mi ta nowait su nohika..."  
  
"Who would send Jim a song? And why is the same piece sung in English and Japanese?" contemplated Gene.  
  
Jim could barely hear the music playing from the bathroom as he dressed in the horribly oversized garments. He froze while putting a leg in his pants and fell over.  
  
--"Aniki? Aniki, what song is that?"  
  
"This song is called 'Red Dragonflies'. No one's sure who wrote it, but it's a nice song. Don't you think?"  
  
"Yeah! What are they saying in that other language? I don't understand it."  
  
"The lady singing it is saying the same thing, only in English."  
  
"Aniki, where'd you get the tape?"  
  
"I found it in the attic. I'm not sure where it came from, but you can have it if you like it, Jimmy."  
  
"Yeah, I'd like that Aniki! Thanks!"--  
  
"Where'd that come from? Where'd you get that song?" Jim almost inaudibly asked Gene from the doorway of the bathroom. The redhead glanced up to see the boy, dripping wet, holding the pants up around his waist. His head was titled downward so he couldn't see his face through his thick, damp locks of dark blond hair.  
  
"It came in the mail for you just today. Why?" Gene asked bluntly.  
  
"Are you serious? Who sent it?" screamed Jim as he ran towards the man. He stumbled and tripped over the large pants, but unflaggingly reached the table and grabbed the envelope. He held the thing in his hands.  
  
"There's no return address, but you got a note with it too," Gene pointed out, holding the paper out. Jim snatched it eagerly and unfolded it.  
  
'Jimmy-  
  
I know how much you liked the song and, as I promised, it's yours. Enjoy it.  
  
-Aniki'  
  
Jim's hands shook and his blue eyes held disbelief and confusion.  
  
"My... My Aniki... Is he... Alive?" whispered Jim.  
  
"You have a brother? I thought orphans don't have brothers," Gene said with a stern face and his muscular arms crossed in front of his chest. "Besides, didn't you say you can't remember anything?"  
  
"I don't, except... You remind me of my Aniki. I don't know... I can't remember much. Only his face. He had your hair. Gene... Every time I see your face, I think of Kokurando. That's why I kept calling you Aniki. That's what I called him, because when I was little I couldn't pronounce his name. I remember... He called me Jimmy. I miss him. Gene, you're just like him..." Jim sobbed, tears streaming from his face. He gave up holding them back and was now crying loudly into Gene's chest, squeezing his eyes shut. "Aniki... I miss you..."  
  
Gene subconsciously wrapped his arms around Jim, holding im tightly in a hug.  
  
It was an awkward hug, but it was their first hug.  
  
"Kokurando..." Gene heard himself whisper. 'Jim loves his brother more than anything. I wonder what it would be like to have a younger brother...'  
  
--  
  
There you go! How does the new memory sequence thing suit you? Easier to understand?  
  
Another question has surfaced- Is Kokurando, Jim's older brother, still alive? If so, where the heck has he been? If not, who sent the letter and the tape? Looks like suspense! Bum, bum, bum! Find out next time (maybe)! Later! 


	7. 7 Internet, Please, Hold the Anchovies

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 7- Internet, Please, Hold the Anchovies

That's right, lucky number seven is up! I know what you're saying... "Geez... When is this chick going to STOP WRITING??" Well, here is my reply...

NEVER, YO!

Ahem...

So, last time, Jim got a tape and a note from his dead brother. He was half-naked and tripped in Gene's pants, but unless you're fourteen and are obsessing over an eleven-year-old kid like me, that has no relevance to the summary. Yeah, I just had a Pepsi... Ooh! I don't own Pepsi!

Now time to thank everyone who's enjoying the fic thus far! Let's begin now, shall we?

--

Jim read the note again.

'It doesn't make sense...' he thought silently. 'Kokurando died... I remember that much. Besides, if he knows where I'm living, why didn't he just come see me? And why isn't there any return address on the envelope? He would've had to have dropped it off, not have mailed it.'

Jim sighed and set the note aside. He flipped open the laptop on his bedside table and searched the Internet for any site providing lyrics to songs. He quickly found an appropriate search engine.

'Song title: Red Dragonflies; Author: Unknown'

He waited as patiently as possible while the results loaded.

'Results: Sorry! No matching results.'

"Sorry my a-" Jim began to shout.

"Hey. Dinner," Gene said, standing in the doorway. Jim hurriedly covered the screen, attempting to hide his blushed face. "Unless you're looking at pornography, I'm not interested."

"Why? Would you take away my laptop?" Jim asked as he closed the window.

"No, I'd pull up a seat."

"Take-out again?" Jim muttered blandly, staring at the delivery pizza at the table. Gene was already helping himself to over half of the large pizza.

"I can't cook and I'm not eating that crap you call soup ever again. Now eat," Gene ordered, pushing the remaining slices, still in the box, to the boy.

"What's on it?" asked Jim, taking two slices and putting them eagerly on his paper plate.

"Everything," Gene replied through his pizza.

"Anchovies?"

"That's everything, isn't it?"

"I don't like anchovies."

"So peel them off."

After eating, Jim returned to his small room and continued searching for anything he could find on the song. Eventually he gave up and picked up the paper with the note, reading it for the two hundred, twelfth time. He tossed it aside and held the envelope in his hands now.

'To Mr. James Arthur Hawking, Jr.'

"Why would my brother be so formal? Wouldn't he just put 'Jimmy Hawking' or something? ...Wait... 'Jr.'? I didn't know my name really was Jim. I knew it was my dad's, but I just took it... Oh! Oh! Idea!" Jim cried, leaping at his laptop yet again.

'Search: James Arthur Hawking, Sr.'

'Results: James Hawking became a master hacker at a young age. He was revered by many, but despised by even more. By allegedly working in partnership with government and police forces in order to thwart numerous crimes against the state as well as several individual persons, James Hawking not only gained the title 'The Wizard', but he also earned many high-in-power enemies. James Hawking died tragically when his private spaceship mysteriously crashed on the planet Earth in 1997, also taking the lives of his wife and eldest son. The body of his youngest son was never recovered.'

Jim stared, mouth opening and closing, yet no voice to be found, staring at the screen. That's when Jim got his brilliant idea. He printed the papers and scribbled something at the bottom, then ran his the door.

"Gene! I need a phone book!" the boy cried when he finally found the man, reclining on the couch in front of the television.

"It's under that stack of books," Gene said half-mindedly, pointing with his bare foot to a messy pile across the room. "Why?"

"I'm going to find out about my father."

After jotting down an address and a phone number of the paper, he pulled his baggy coat on and opened the door.

"I'm going out," he called to Gene in the other room.

"You're not running away again, are you?" Gene yelled back, unenthusiastically.

"Come on! You provide me with disgusting, salty, tiny, headless fish! Who would run from that?" Jim asked sarcastically as he headed out the door.

After about an hour of walking, he finally made it. 2784 Sohma Avenue. He took in a deep, slightly ragged breath and rang the doorbell. A fairly attractive middle-aged woman answered the door.

"Can I help you?" she asked after Jim remained silent.

"Oh! Yes! Um... Are you Mrs. Narita? My name is James Hawking, uh, Jr., and I'd like to speak to your husband, if he's home..." he stuttered, shifting his feet. He glanced back up at the brunette lady with his huge blue eyes. She gave him a pathetic once-over and opened the door a bit, inviting him in.

Jim sat on the comfortable couch while Mrs. Narita placed a cup of hot tea in front of him, taking a sip of her own.

Replacing her cup to the table, the woman asked, "I don't suppose you're my husband's dead work partner, are you, kid?"

"Um, no, but I think my dad was," Jim said with mock confidence. "Ma'am-"

"Meilu," Mrs. Narita corrected quickly. "I don't like feeling old."

"Right... Meilu, I was wondering if I could talk with Mr. Narita about my father. See, I've lived at an orphan-"

"Noboru told me about you. He said Mr. Hawking's son needed a home, and that he owed it to James to raise his kid for him," Meilu muttered, clearly rueful, yet somewhat detestable.

"That was me!" Jim cried, suddenly jumping from the couch, nearly spilling his tea.

"It doesn't matter," Meilu whispered. In a vengeful movement, eyes sealed shut, she quickly snatched up hers and Jim's cups, still full, and made her way back into the kitchen. Before entering the room, she turned back to Jim and, tears welled in her emerald eyes, said, "The day Noboru was to pick you up, he never came home. His body was found beaten to death by some Yukuzos who called themselves the Kei Pirates. They said it was revenge for James Hawking double-crossing them."

Jim's eyes lingered uncomfortably at his feet.

"I want you to leave now."

'My father was a Yukuzo?' he asked himself, knee-deep in disbelief. He knew he had to find out who these 'Kei Pirates' were.

"They also said they were going to find you," Meilu added painfully regretfully. Jim's face, now holding a pang of fear, shot up to look at the woman's. "And kill you."

Jim finally found his way back to the apartment at around one.

'Not bad," he thought to himself, 'seeming how I left around five...'

Gene awoke sharply at the sound of the door closing.

"Hey, you're home. I wasn't sure if you were planning on coming back," he muttered, slurring his words and rubbing his eyes in tiredness.

Normally Jim would make a smart comment to something like that- something about Gene being completely immature, leaving the door open slightly ajar and sleeping nearly nude with the television still on, or that he didn't seem to be too worried about him, but the boy was far too caught up in his own troubles to even register what the redhead was saying to him, or that he had even spoken at all. He only noticed slightly at Gene saying 'home'.

He was... Home.

Jim cast the thought aside and flipped open his laptop and once again went to his search engine.

'Search: Kei Pirates'

'Results: The Kei Pirates were a band of notorious gang members committing several atrocious crimes, the last of which being the theft of a massive time bomb, which has yet to be recovered. James Hawking, the man responsible for the discontinuation of the unspeakable acts of the Kei Pirates, perished mysteriously shortly after releasing key information to the government. Soon after, most Kei Pirates were taken into custody, but few supreme leaders, including Inui Karahaba, Ishiyama Ijimeru and Ota, and Tenako Kuraitenshi, who managed to escape from the police forces. However, the Kei Pirates have not resurfaced, and have seemingly died out.'

Jim stared at the computer screen.

"This is it... This is the information I've been searching for!" Jim cried in a celebratory manner.

"Shut up and go to sleep," Gene ordered as he threw a pillow at the blond from the doorway, knocking him over.

--

Oh, wow! Child abuse! Get a load of that, huh? So, some new questions have popped into the picture- who are they Kei Pirates, and was James Hawking, Sr. one of them?

Wow, that took longer than expected... I've been writing that for a few days now...

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I get to spend the entire day in my first period class, in gym, with crazy Mrs. Todd. ::scream, thunder, fish dies:: Guess where my bus stop is, all (you guys are all ï). HALF A MILE AWAY. No, wait. Correction. In sixth grade it was half a mile away. Now it's three quarters of a mile away. ::cries:: I'm a freshman! I'm going to be lost! Ack!

Oh, well... Keep reading, and I'll keep writing! Byes!


	8. A Deeper Understanding

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 8- A Deeper Understanding

I'm really sorry I haven't been on lately, but you know with school starting and all... Speaking of, when did you all take geometry in high school? How do they get off giving it to me as a freshman? I've had it two days and I'm completely lost... ;.; Yeah, they decided to move me from algebra to geometry last Friday. I got switched out of gym and put into piano, which isn't HORRIBLE, but I actually liked my gym class and I can already play keyboard. And now Mackenzie (my best friend! .) wants me to try out for freshman cheerleading with her tomorrow... By the way, I know you've been reading, Max! REVIEW, I SAY! Oh, ah lurve yew...

So, continuing with the story... Last time Jimmy-Boy cracked down and did some research. As it turns out, his father was allegedly working with the government to put a stop to the Kei Pirates and other associated criminals, but according to Mrs. Narita, Jim's father's partner's wife (oo;;), he was working with them and double-crossed them, thus resulting in Narita Noboru's death.

I want to thank everyone who's been reviewing! You're almost making it all worthwhile! .

--

Jim was sitting on his bed, hair dirty and matted, clad in only a faded brown T-shirt and his boxers, staring intently, or stubbornly, at the smudged screen of his laptop.

The redhead, Gene waltzed by without a shirt, brushing his teeth in an exhausted hypnotic state, then backtracked to look again at the boy. He sighed through the minty foam in his mouth and pulled the red toothbrush out.

"Kid, how long have you been staring at that page?" he asked; though it came out more as a gargle than anything else.

"Twenty-five hours, eight minutes, and nine seconds," Jim replied quickly, automatically, without straying his eyes. "Ten seconds... Eleven seconds... Twelve seconds... Thirteen-"

"Exactly?" sighed Gene, running a large hand through his hair exasperatedly.

Jim paused only to toss a look over his should at the man and mutter, "What do you think?" with an added eye roll.

"Okay, kid. I'm shutting this thing off. I think you're becoming obsessed," Gene cautiously said, edging to the laptop and reaching for the switch. Suddenly, he felt Jim's small, soft hand draped over his own large, rough, textured one. He raised his questioning sparkling blue eyes to meet large, pleading, sleep-deprived deep chestnut ones.

"This is the only lead I have."

Slowly Gene removed his hand and Jim turned back to the screen. Gene sat down beside the boy and read over his shoulder.

"Kei Pirates?" he asked, glancing down at Jim.

"I think those are the guys who killed my parents and brother," Jim replied solemnly. Gene didn't say another word about it. He, too, had lost his family at a young age and knew what it felt like to be alone. True, he still had many questions about Jim's past, some of which the blond himself couldn't answer, but he thought best not to pester. After all-

He understood.

Of course, not from Jim's point of view. From the eleven-year-old's perspective, Gene Starwind had no idea what Jim was going through. Sure, Jim had lost his family at a much earlier age than Gene had, along with his own memory, but over all, Jim felt fortunate.

Jim had never felt fortunate for anything in his entire life. In all his years at the orphanage, he felt deprived and forgotten. But now Jim had someone in his life. He had someone to point him in a direction- be it good or malicious.

He had Gene.

Jim felt lucky to have someone like Gene there for him, though he wouldn't ever dare admit it. Sometimes it even felt like Jim was the one taking care of Gene when he came home drunk and with a sore head or with some nameless girl he would forget by morning.

But he would never forget Jim.

Sure they had more than their fair share of quarrels, but Jim had finally come to actually trust Gene, as Gene did Jim.

And to the point of yesterday- Jim still couldn't get off his now seemingly feeble mind that Gene had referred to the old musty apartment as "home".

"Welcome home."

That was the first time either had thought of it that way or even mentioned such a warm thought to one-another.

For such a long time Jim had considered the orphanage his home. Or, rather, his boundary or limits. Now he actually had a loving (well, close enough) place to reside. One at which he felt needed and respected, even a little.

Jim had learned that respect wasn't a right, but a privilege. It was something to be earned, not given. And after a bullet wound, a plane crash, and countless take-out pizzas, Jim had respect for Gene. Not a lot, but enough. And Jim had definitely earned his respect for the immature eighteen-year-old. Gene had to admit; the kid was tough.

Jim's dull brown eyes were focused blandly at the screen. He noticed the red button flickering on and off, signaling the battery was about to run out. The boy sighed and closed his eyes, falling back lazily onto the tiny twin bed. His nose twitched, and then he sneezed.

Gene glanced down at Jim and muttered, "Gazunheit."

"No... It's bless you," Jim corrected playfully. "Say it. Say 'bless you'."

"Why should I? Don't they mean the same thing?"

"Well, yeah, but people used to think that when you sneeze, your soul escapes. They'd say 'bless you' so you could be blessed regain it," explained Jim.

"Who told you that?" Gene asked, glaring down at the child. Jim shrugged his bony shoulders.

"I just picked it up."

"Whoever told you that was a nut, kid..."

Jim thought deeply. Who told him that...?

--"Achoo!"

"Do you have allergies, Aniki?"

"I think I'm allergic to you, Jimmy."

"Hey! That's not nice!"

"Yeah, but it's funny! Naw, I'm just playing with you. Besides, you didn't say 'bless you'."

"Um... I'm sorry...?"

"You should be. What if my soul escapes and never comes back?"

"Huh?"

"Come on, you've never heard? ... Well, people say that when you sneeze your soul gets out. To bring it back, someone has to say 'bless you' and it'll come flying back!"

"Really?"

"Sure."

"I don't want your soul to get out and not come back."

"I don't either."

"Okay. Bless you, Aniki."--

Jim's serious face twisted into a forced grin when he noticed Gene was staring at him. He pretended to chuckle slightly and hoped it sounded convincing.

"Yeah... It is pretty stupid, isn't it...?" he asked, purposely diverting his eyes from Gene dark blue gaze.

"Hey, come on, kid. Get dressed and we'll go for Chinese tonight," Gene said, ruffling Jim's dirty blond hair and rising from the bed.

"Oh boy. Not the usual delivery pizza," Jim said, mock enthusiastically.

"Hey. I make buttered toast," said Gene sternly, pointing a large finger at Jim from the doorway, then heading off to finish brushing his teeth and attempt to find a hopefully clean shirt. Jim rolled his eyes and smiled, continuing to do the same.

Since neither had done a load of laundry nor washed dishes in their life, they went to the cleaners about once every two weeks to do a few loads of laundry and only used plastic cups and paper plates and plastic silverware. Jim chuckled at how petty his living arrangements seemed. Then again, it was better than Solitary Confinement at the orphanage.

Jim silently blessed Gene under his breath. Sure, he was arrogant, self-centered, immature, and perverted, but there were several likeable qualities Jim saw in him.

Once he remembers what they are, he'll tell you.

"Hey, kid. Hurry up. I'm feeling nice tonight, so you can pick any restaurant you want as long as we can eat there for under fifty bucks," Gene said, poking his head back in the door, grinning widely. Jim smiled innocently to himself.

Yes, he was fortunate to have someone like Gene there for him, because Gene understood.

--

So, how was that? I think that was possibly the corniest fan fic chapter ever written and recorded in the annals of history...

Either way, next time there'll be more action, I promise you. I'm just feeling very lazy because I'm exhausted from cheerleading practice. Don't laugh. They work us REALLY hard...

So I caught a VERY large garden spider yesterday and brought her to school today in a jar to show my biology teacher. I named her Sasha after my best friend's older sister. They have a LOT IN COMMON, Actually- they're both cheerleaders, they're both in college, they're both black... Yeah, so her name is Sasha Nizzle and I set her free when I got home earlier. ;;

DUDE, I'VE BEEN HOME ALONE SINCE 6:00 AND IT'S 8:16 AND I'LL BE HOME ALONE UNTIL 9:00!! It's very rare at my house for no one to be home, but the whole family went to my older sister's volley ball game and they left me here... ::cries::

Okay, I'm done


	9. 9 Ransom

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 9- Ransom

Hey there! I'm so sorry about the delay! School recently started and I'm having trouble balancing Geometry homework, choir practice, cheerleading, and my SENIOR BOYFRIEND! Ha! A freshman's dating a senior! How awesome! His name is Ramon! .

Ahem, so, on with the detail! I can't quite remember what happened last chapter, so bear with me here… I'm pretty sure the last one was "A Deeper Understanding", right? Right?

Well, anyway, I thank everyone who commented on my fic thus far! For those of you who are sitting at home thinking, 'Hm, this bites. When will she get to the good part??' and write 'Hey! Great stuff! Keep up the good work!! ', this is where it gets interesting. I FINALLY HAVE A PLOT LINE! AFTER SEVEN CHAPTERS THERE'S FINALLY A POLT LINE!! … BE HAPPY FOR ME! DANCE! ::is under stress::

--

It was Fathers' Day. He was technically considered a father, right?

Right. He fed the kid, he clothed the kid, he punished the kid, and he got a one hundred dollar check each month for caring for the kid. That's what a dad does. So he had liberty to take the day off for Fathers' Day, right?

Right. Even if he didn't exactly TELL the kid he was leaving, nor when he'd return…

But darn it, Gene Starwind had been raising the kid for nearly half a year now, and nothing was going to stop him from taking this day off!

As the cocky redhead strode down a crowded street, he wondered why all his thoughts seemed to be tracing back to the little messy-haired boy still sound asleep at his apartment. Could it be that he was concerned about how Jim might react when he noticed his parental unit had dispersed?

No, Gene was gone all the time without any warning at all.

Of course, when he was gone, he was out with some air-headed bimbo and it hurt his head too much to even manipulate a thought about the eleven-year-old.

But now he was sober, and as he paid a hotdog vendor for a hot one, he couldn't help but wonder if the young child was waking up yet.

-

Jim's mind seemed like it was on fire- he could almost hear his own brain cells popping. He struggled as hard as he could, but unconsciousness was taking him quickly.

His foe held a damp, foul-smelling rag to his nose and mouth and with his other hand he held Jim in a headlock. The boy's tiny hands clawed helplessly at the man's hand and arms trying to break free.

'Chloroform,' Jim's mind screamed as it registered what was happening. 'I'm being gagged with chloroform.'

That was the second-to-last thought that entered Jim's mind before he succumbed to darkness.

The last was about Gene.

-

The redhead was halfway across town at a bar with a martini in one hand and a brunette in the other. With a slight buzz coming on, Gene had forgotten all about his little friend. Instead, he moved onto the next big question-

-How was he going to get into Joan's pants?

-

As he staggered home from his new friend's house, drunk and completely satisfied, he remembered he left his keys in his pocket, which he undoubtedly left in his jeans, when he inadvertently left at Joan's place. He had no idea whose pants he was wearing now.

But the key issue wasn't a problem, since he seemed to have left the front door open. And that lamp smashed on the ground. And that table overturned.

He was seeing a pattern, and he distinctively remembered being sober this morning when he left.

They say a sudden shock can actually send a drunken person to soberness.

Gene saw Jim's brown coat lying in the middle of what used to be his room, the boy nowhere to be seen. Pinned to the coat, however, was a yellow slip of paper.

"We have him. He is not hurt. He knows too much. Don't come looking for him," Gene read aloud. It was signed "Kei Pirates".

Gene not only cleared his buzz that second, but he also almost peed whoever's pants he was currently wearing.

--

Wow! That was actually better than I had hoped! Especially considering it's 6:45 A.M. I THOUGHT IT WAS AGAINST THE LAW TO GET UP EARLY ON CHRISTMAS VACATION! I know it's a bit shorter than my other chapters, but that's the drama. ::drama ensues:: See?

Well, let's see here… Next time we're going to go a bit more in depth as to who exactly kidnapped Jim. Gene's going to recruit some painfully familiar people to help him solve the case- or solve the case for him.

But he never returns Joan's pants.

Until next time! Love ya', byes!

-CU


	10. 10 Recruits and Torture Techniques

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 9- Recruits and Torture Techniques

Okay! That being said, thank you! I thank everyone who has put up with the delays and the errors and EVERYTHING! As I said before, we're going to be reintroduced to some very familiar characters…

"Jimmy, wake up. Come on, kiddo. It's time to get up, Jim."-

"I SAID GET UP!" a loud, booming voice roared in Jim's ear as a large foot came down hard on his side. Jim yelped in pain and grabbed his cracked ribs as he rolled over on his side. He let his eyes open wide enough to send out a hateful glare at whoever had kicked him.

It was a large man, muscles bulging from under his black attire. He wore a black mask covering his entire face save for two holes cut out for his hateful, ice blue eyes.

Those eyes…

"Hmph… That's more like it… Now get up, you wretch," the man ordered, grabbing Jim by his black T-shirt and forcing him to his feet. The boy hunched over in excruciating pain as he held his battered chest and his broken pride.

"Who are you…? And what do you want with me?" Jim demanded.

"James Arthur Hawking, Jr. Our sources reported your detailed research and knowledge of the Kei Pirates," the man read from a slip of paper handed to him by another masked felon. The man with the deep blue eyes then bent down on one knee so he was eye-level with the boy and asked him in a chilled voice, "Just what are you trying to find out, Jimmy?"

Jimmy…?

He straightened up and continued with his speech, pacing as he spoke. "We went into hiding years ago. Everyone forgot about the infamous 'Kei Pirates'. We were a legend… A thing of the past…" He stopped and stared Jim in the eyes. "Imagine our surprise when we discover a pre-teen knows everything about our operations. We've been watching you for weeks. We've observed your surroundings, associates… And you know too much."

"What are you planning on doing to me…?" Jim asked, his face gone pale and his voice unsteady. A small chuckle came from behind the mask of the apparent leader.

"Nothing, Jimmy… At least… Not if you tell us what we want to know…"

Jim was gone. All Gene had was his trusty Caster and the old clunker Jim crashed.

The note said not to come looking for the kid. But he was like family to Gene Starwind now. He saw the boy not as a son, but perhaps… A younger brother. Of course he was going to find him.

But Gene couldn't do it alone. As cocky as he was, he knew his limitations. He'd need some aid on this mission, and he knew where to get it…

…Sort of.

"Gene! I can't believe it! How long has it been, Genie? Months? Years, even?" the man cried joyously as he embraced the redhead tightly.

"Yeah, whatever. Good to see you, too, Fred…" mumbled Gene in reply as he pried to green-haired lecher.

"So, Gene. Take a seat. What brings you here?" Fred asked as he returned to his desk and folded his hands on top. With a sense of realization, his brow furrowed. "It's not a matter of business, is it?"

"Actually, yeah. There's something I need to do… So I need you to hook me up with weapons-"

"Consider it done! It'll be a snap! Let's see, you'll need a flamethrower…"

"- And a crew," concluded Gene. Fred Lowe's jaw hung open for several seconds as he collected himself. As he cleared his throat, he continued with a heavy heart.

"Gene, that'll be a bit more difficult. Especially considering your hostile personality. You're not really compatible with any type of people, and you don't play well with others. The odds of finding a person you can tolerate enough not to liquidate their brains with a twentieth century egg-beater and drain them out through their nostril's **and** who can drive stick are highly unlikely. And you know that!" Fred screamed as he jumped up and pointed a finger defiantly at the other man.

"Well, gee, Fred, that was horribly… Vivid… … Why do they have to drive stick?"

"I'm just saying it'll take some time. … And money," Fred added as he reclined into his chair and crossed his arms.

"I don't care how much it costs. I need this done. I need to do this. It's a recon mission, and this person is very… Important to me," Gene said. He seemed determined to get this job done.

"There isn't… Someone else… Is there?" Fred asked dramatically, his eyes watering up and a handkerchief in his mouth.

"What!" Gene bellowed as he jumped out of his seat. "It's a kid!"

"Oh, Gene! Parenthood is a wonderful adventure full of twists and turns and bends and forks and potholes and such! I'm so glad you're finally admitting to something in your life! With manhood comes responsibility, I always say!" Fred cried exuberantly. He had now leapt out from behind his desk and had locked hands with Gene. "I think I can scrounge up something. Check back with me this time tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? I need this now! He could be hurt!" protested Gene.

"Tomorrow or nothing!"

With that, Gene left. He couldn't sleep at all that night. But come next morning…

"Gene, after a long night of careful planning and consideration, I think I've found the perfect crew for you," insisted Fred and he lead Gene to the back of his office. He whipped out a remote control and pushed a large red button. A huge television screen came down from the ceiling. With another push of the button, it turned on to a very attractive woman. "Gene, this is Aisha Klan-Klan, head of the Ktarl-Ktarl Empire. She's full of brute strength and best at hand-to-hand combat." Fred pushed the button once again and the image of the young lady was replaced with an older woman with long hair. "And this is Lady Sazuka, better known as Twilight Sazuka. As you may have heard of her reputation, she's an expert assassin who never misses her target after twilight, hence her name. Her specialty is ancient Japanese kendo and sword fighting. Her weapon is a wooden sword." Fred pressed the red button one more time and the screen went blank and rose back up to the ceiling. "Any questions?"

"… That's it?" Gene asked blatantly. "That's not a crew, that's two hot babes!"

"Gene, please! They're professionals! And they cost so much!" Fred pleaded.

"Couldn't you at least get me one burly guy with a gun?"

"Ahem." Gene turned to see where the voice had come from. He saw the two women from the screen.

"So you're Gene Starwind, huh?" the girl who Gene remembered as Aisha said as she approached him. She indefinitely sized him up. She was two inches taller than he was. "You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be!"

"And you're a lot harrier than I thought you'd be," he replied snidely.

"Now, now, children," the other woman, Sazuka, said in a soothing tone. "We've got work to do, don't we? Now, Mr. Starwind, who is this child we're supposed to rescue?"

Yeah! Alright! Let's dance! That was fun. :eats Mandarin oranges: Man, I love these things… Okay, people. Another one bites the dust. Next time, the recon mission heads underway and Jim makes a few escape plans of his own.

READ IT!


	11. 11 Some Interrogation With a Little Plot...

Outlaw Star: Forgotten Dreams 10- Some Interrogation With a Little Plotting on the Side

Wow. Long title. Hey, hey, hey! I'm going to be on a commercial! Yay! Let's party! Okay, no, but seriously, I am going to be on a commercial, so wee.

Last time Jim got a few bruises and broken bones- nothing compared to what's to come- and Gene met his totally un-burly, feminine crew. Some people may be wondering where Melfina is, hmm? … :walks off:

"All systems go, Genie!" Aisha Klan-Klan cried excitedly. Gene made the same exasperated face that had been plastered across his formerly goofy veneer for the past day and a half.

"I told you, Cat-woman- stop calling me 'Genie'! It's degrading and humiliating…" he muttered.

"No one here but us girls, Genie!" Aisha wailed again, grinning victoriously.

"Please, can we just go?" Sazuka pleaded with dignity. "Mr. Lowe was kind enough to give us the coordinates of the most recent Kei Pirate hide-out. It would be rude never to even take off." It was apparent she had put up with the two infantile crewmembers' squabbling for long enough. It took a day to teach them how to operate their respectable functions on the banged ship and another twelve hours to convince Aisha that it was safe to fly.

"Some duct tape and chewing gum doesn't always work, you know," she had told them.

Oh, and when I say "convince", I really mean Fred reluctantly raised her pay by two thousand woolong.

"Alright, ladies, let's get the hunk of junk off the ground!" Gene ordered and he pushed a series of buttons and pulled a series of levers.

"Are all those really necessary to take off, Mr. Starwind?" Sazuka asked, observing intently.

"No, I just don't remember which one makes it go," said Gene. He was cut off the hum of the great engine. "Ha! I knew it was somewhere!"

Jim opened his eyes and instantly felt a sharp pain searing through his skull. Out of instinct, he hand went to his head and he felt blood. He recalled his slight beating yesterday. It was his second day and his third interrogation. When he once again refused to forfeit the information he had, the self-proclaimed leader, whom the others called Do-sama, had punched him across the face out of sheer impatience. Jim remembered flying across the room from the incredibly strong attack and hitting his head against the hard wall.

Then nothing.

As his keen blue eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he realized he was no longer in the tiny room. He was now in a spacious, dank cell. It was a dungeon.

A shiver ran down his spine.

He had to devise an ingenious plan to get out. He knew there was a reason for his being in the orphanage- he got all that practice trying to escape. Then, however, he drifted back to reality as it dawned on him that none of his plans ever actually worked. He always ended up getting caught.

'And that was just the orphanage with the evil nuns. This is like a high-security prison. I bet there's guards right outside,' he reminded himself. He glanced around in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner, searching for rouge video cameras.

He was sure he was being watched.

Jim counted a total of five video cameras in the large room. There was one angle he inferred none of the cameras could reach, and that was a tiny corner by a window. He could head there periodically so not to be suspicious to put his plan in motion. Hopefully there minimum of light in the area would suffice.

Next order of business- coming up with the plan.

Unfortunately, that would have to wait, because he could hear the click of the cell lock being opened. He wiped the blood from his hand to his T-shirt and straightened up.

Do-sama walked in with that smug look on his face. Jim couldn't actually see the menacing man's face, but he assumed he was grinning down at him devilishly.

"You ready to talk, Jimmy?" he asked, grabbing Jim's arm and leading him out. He got no response, as usual. "Come on, kiddo. If you'll just tell us what we want to know, we can let you go and spare you all this pain."

"I'm not going to tell you anything," Jim said defiantly as he sat down in the wooden chair in the small room he had been led to. It was the only piece of furniture in the room, if you didn't count the video camera peering down at him, and it was nailed to the floor.

"Why don't we start with the same question as last time- why were you researching the Kei Pirates?" Do-sama asked, leaning against the wall. Jim turned his head away from the man.

"No reason."

"No reason? Just got curious?"

"Yep. Just got curious, is all."

"Okay, how about this one- how did you get access to those pages? Did you hack into them? Did someone E-mail them to you?" asked Do-sama.

"It's like I told you yesterday- they I didn't have to hack into anything. I just typed in 'Kei Pirates' on a search engine and they popped up," insisted Jim. His response was a sharp slap to the face.

"You're lying to me, Jimmy, I know you are. Those pages you read were confidential. A lot of my men don't even have access to them. How come you do?"

"I don't know. I was just surfing the Internet on my laptop one day and I stumbled upon your secrets. I don't know how it happened! It just did!"

Do-sama stared at him before gruffly wrenching him up by his arm. They walked down the hall and he tossed the petit boy back into the dark cell.

"You'll stay in there without any food until you confess," Do-sama warned before marching off.

But that was all right. Jim had devised his miraculous plan.

Yay! Okay, people! I'm going to advertise here! Check out my Xanga! I'm ChocolateUsagi! Who would've guessed?

Any-who, I'm done with the tenth chappie! Yay! Let's celebrate! Next time- some stuff will happen.

Oh, yeah, about Mel…

…


End file.
